by Col Quisp » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:01 pm
The whole thing is fishy.<br><br><br>Bad feeling prompted Lexington event speaker to cancel trip on Comair 5191<br><br>By Peter Smith<br>The Courier-Journal<br><br><br>A bad feeling about flying caused a North Carolina state senator to cancel a Lexington speaking engagement last weekend that would have put him on Comair Flight 5191.<br><br>North Carolina Sen. Larry Shaw, D-Fayetteville, said in an interview Thursday that he can’t explain exactly what made him so anxious.<br><br>But he decided to cancel the trip, including his booking on Flight 5191, after hearing of the Aug. 10 arrest of terror suspects in London, accused of plotting to blow up trans-Atlantic jets.<br><br>“I felt very bad about it because I try not to cancel out on people,” Shaw said in a telephone interview. “In my heart of hearts, I was never comfortable about it, never felt right about this.”<br><br>And the speaker who took his place at a Lexington meeting of a Muslim civil-rights group said he was one computer click away from booking Flight 5191 as well — but decided it was too early and opted for a later flight.<br><br>Ihsan Bagby, chairman of the Kentucky chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he tried to talk Shaw out of canceling so close to his group’s annual dinner, where the senator was to give the keynote address.<br><br>“I was not very pleased, put it that way,” said Bagby, who is a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky. “Looking back, I am so glad he didn’t feel comfortable. I truly believe that God was protecting him.”<br><br>Shaw and Bagby each sent The Courier-Journal copies of Shaw’s flight itinerary, showing the senator’s booking on Flight 5191.<br><br>Comair spokeswoman Allison Grever said the company cannot confirm passengers’ itineraries out of respect for their privacy.<br><br>Shaw, a Democrat from Fayetteville, has been a senator for 10 years. He is Muslim but said his anxiety about the weekend trip didn’t relate to prospects of being profiled by security workers.<br><br>“It was more than that,” he said. “I think safety was a factor. It was not right for me. All my instincts and rationale said, ‘This is not right for you. Don’t do this.’ ”<br><br>Shaw said he learned of the tragedy from a newscast on Sunday morning, and wanted the people of Kentucky to know: “You’ve got the entire country grieving with you.”<br><br>Taking Shaw’s place as the dinner speaker was Parvez Ahmed of Jacksonville, Fla., chairman of the board of the national Council on American-Islamic Relations.<br><br>Ahmed said he normally tries to take the earliest flight home from business trips.<br><br>“My first inclination was to take the 6 o’clock flight,” he said. “I almost booked it but then saw there was a 7:30 flight shortly after.”<br><br>He decided that, in case the banquet ran late, he would sleep in a little later, and if it didn’t, he would get up early and try to get on Flight 5191 on stand-by.<br><br>“Fortunately, I did not wake early enough,” he said. He said he arrived at the airport around 6:15 and checked in before learning the airport was closing. He began hearing rumors of an accident, but said no one indicated how serious it was.<br><br>He said he and some other stranded passengers then took a rental car to Louisville to catch other flights.<br><br>On the way, he received a phone call from Shaw, who’d heard there had been an accident and wanted to be sure that Ahmed was OK. That’s when Ahmed learned the extent of the tragedy.<br><br>Ahmed said he is “so thankful” to be alive.<br><br>“We believe in our faith (that) God works in mysterious ways,” he said. “We are just thankful to have a second chance.”<br><br>He said he has encouraged Muslims to donate to those helping the victims.<br><br>“Of course, none of us can replace the loss of the loved ones, but as a community we can come together and help people in their hours of need,” he said.<br><br>Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.<br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>
